On Tuesday, in a tense atmosphere in Congress, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin stood up and challenged a Teamster boss to a fight.
Former MMA veteran Mullin confronted Sean O’Brian as he appeared ready to jump during the wild hearing of the Senate Committee on Education, Labor, and Pensions on Tuesday. However, Senator Bernie Sanders intervened and requested Mullin to sit down.
This extraordinary exchange occurred just hours after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was accused of elbowing a colleague in the shoulder during a disruption in the House chamber.
The Senate clash began when O’Bryan challenged Mulin on Twitter in June, calling him a ‘coward’ and a traitor.
‘You know where to find me. Anywhere, anytime cowboy,’ O’Bryan warned.
Mulin used his question time to confront O’Bryan and read out some tweets.
‘Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults – we can end this right here,’ Mulin said.
‘Alright, alright. Absolutely right,’ O’Bryan replied.
‘You want to do this right now,’ Mulin turned the tables.
‘O’Bryan said, ‘I would love to do this right now.’
Mulin responded, ‘Alright, then step up,’ and told O’Bryan to stand.
Afterwards, Sanders leaped, Gavel beat him, and Mulin told him, ‘You are a United States senator, sit down.
‘This is a hearing, and God knows there is enough disrespect for Congress in the minds of the American people, come on…’
Afterward, Mulin and O’Bryan cut him off, and they started shouting at each other again.
Tuesday’s brawl is not the first time there has been almost a fistfight between the two.
In March, during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, O’Bryan accused Mulin of being a ‘greedy CEO.’
The senator responded, ‘Shut your mouth.’
Mulin is a newcomer to the Senate from Georgia. After serving as a member of the House since 2013, he was elected to the Senate in 2022.
